Has there been any word/details regarding what is specifically wrong with Crawford?
- SimpleJack

No and there won't be.

Tyler - assuming that North America comes out of this COVID situation in the next year, do you think that teams (GM's) will ultimately start to be a bit more conservative and be less aggressive with FA's? I know there will always be Tallon's and such out there, but we are going to see 2-3 straight years of teams having to be quite frugal with their cap dollars.

Maybe we just see a string of 1 year deals for the next couple of years until the financial situation improves?

Cue up the Stan should be fired for trading Joki for Nylander in 3....2....1....
- LAHawk

Funny thing is that Kahun for Maatta is the worse trade at this point value for value.

From a pure hockey perspective, Smith, hands-down. But it's not that simple.

If Saad isn't in the Hawks plans beyond next season I would move home at the TDL if the Hawks are out of contention. Or, if a contender is willing to part with an NHL ready prospect or a package that is too good to refuse he could be traded earlier.

I would trade Smith and retain 50% if needed, I think that's a better option than a buy-out. It costs a bit more in year 1 but saves cap space in year 2. I'd even throw in a mid-level prospect to sweeten the deal.

Maatta is an easy and reasonable buy-out target, but if that happens it needs to happen before next season. Buyouts for Maatta beyond next season aren't as favourble to the club (as per capfriendly.com). Teams with cap space (i.e. Ottawa) might be interested in Maatta, and the Hawks could retain a bit of salary (maybe $500K) to help with the deal if needed.
- DarthKane

Problem I see is there is no one to replace Saad and his skill set currently. I also don't think his next contract will be crazy. Especially with a flat cap for the next few seasons. He is a known quantity now. You aren't paying for upside anymore.

If I have to add a prospect to move Maatta or Smith, I am just buying them out.

I'm the first one to bang the "we need more players like Saad not less" drum, but with the cap situation and the fact that they have added a number of cheaper players, I think the writing is on the wall for Saad. Especially since they signed ADB to a higher dollar extension, I think they start to run out of cap room quick. Strome and Kubalik are going to take a sizeable bite as well.

I think the answer to your question will ultimately be all of the above. They have guys in the pipeline that can replace what Maatta brings right now (we don't have to discuss Smith). Heck, Gilbert almost did that and he is probably at the bottom of the prospect list at this point.
- Chunk

Maybe but I am trying to move other players before I move Saad. I think Strome and Kubalik's deals depends on what happens against the Oilers.

Kubalik is the priority. He does deserve a raise but teams get in trouble paying too much after one good season. I want to see if he can replicate his success. A 2 year deal would be fair, IMO.

Strome is a guy I still am unsure what to do with him. He has vg offensive skills but how much are you paying for a guy to anchor a bumslaying line? Dach will be the 2C. Strome is a defensive liability rn. Can he improve? He is willing but that skating is a real issue in his own zone.

Maybe but I am trying to move other players before I move Saad. I think Strome and Kubalik's deals depends on what happens against the Oilers.

Kubalik is the priority. He does deserve a raise but teams get in trouble paying too much after one good season. I want to see if he can replicate his success. A 2 year deal would be fair, IMO.

Strome is a guy I still am sure what to do with him.
- Elbows15

Agreed. By no means am I encouraging a trade of Saad. Far from it. I simply believe that they have loaded up with a bunch of scratch-offs to set themselves up to replace him if need be.

Cue up the Stan should be fired for trading Joki for Nylander in 3....2....1....
- LAHawk

Not saying you, but it is still a bit early to call that trade.

I thought Nylander progressed last season. He really seemed to be finding his niche in the latter part of the season.He appeared to be just playing as opposed to thinking about his responsibilities during his shifts.

Agreed. By no means am I encouraging a trade of Saad. Far from it. I simply believe that they have loaded up with a bunch of scratch-offs to set themselves up to replace him if need be.
- Chunk

i added more on Strome.

My main reason for keeping Saad around is he is another vet with PO experience. He knows what it takes to win. Aside from Toews and Kane, Saad is the only forward that brings that experience. Yes. Shaw, too. But we all know the concern with Shaw.

I feel too many teams in a rebuild go tank mode and then have don't have the right vets to show the way.

Maybe but I am trying to move other players before I move Saad. I think Strome and Kubalik's deals depends on what happens against the Oilers.

Kubalik is the priority. He does deserve a raise but teams get in trouble paying too much after one good season. I want to see if he can replicate his success. A 2 year deal would be fair, IMO.

Strome is a guy I still am unsure what to do with him. He has vg offensive skills but how much are you paying for a guy to anchor a bumslaying line? Dach will be the 2C. Strome is a defensive liability rn. Can he improve? He is willing but that skating is a real issue in his own zone.
- Elbows15

To be fair, his skating dramatically improved this year (until his ankle sprain happened).

Its better to have strength up the middle then the wings.

Its a flat cap and he's a RFA. It can't cost an absurd amount of money to keep him and if he continues to get better strength wise and skating wise it shouldn't be that difficult to move him if needed.

Not saying you, but it is still a bit early to call that trade.

I thought Nylander progressed last season. He really seemed to be finding his niche in the latter part of the season.He appeared to be just playing as opposed to thinking about his responsibilities during his shifts.
- Elbows15

Agreed, it's too early to give up on Nylander. Plus is next contract should be relatively reasonable so I would expect him to stick around a bit longer.

if you trade SAAD you can just Bury Smith in the AHL for a season and then not worry about having his cap hit the following year. Maata buyout this year is less then what it would be the following since he is 25 or younger. if you cannot trade him and retain 25% I buy him out. I resign Cagguila I like his speed but It has to be 2 year and 1 mil.

Not saying you, but it is still a bit early to call that trade.

I thought Nylander progressed last season. He really seemed to be finding his niche in the latter part of the season.He appeared to be just playing as opposed to thinking about his responsibilities during his shifts.
- Elbows15[/quot

My point is how many looked at the trade in a vacuum. Even if Joki becomes a top 4 defenseman with Buffalo, with Bovquist, Mitchell, Murphy as right handed shots, and others that can play their offsides, and Seabrook isn t going anywhere, would Joki even make this team?

LW is starting to get overloaded with good talent so a trade seems inevitable:

Saad, DeBrincat, Nylander, Caggiula, Shaw, Suter, Hagel.

Although I'd hate to see him go, as others have pointed out, Saad brings back the best return upwards of a 1st rounder + more.

My guess is Saad or Nylander is trade bait in addition to not re-signing Caggiula.

I'd love to trade Nylander + other asset(s) for Leafs prospect Nick Robertson (he's a LW, too, though).
- AEL_Fox

News flash. The leafs ain’t trading their top prospect for the proverbial bag of pucks. Any team that wants Alex Nylander can do so next season for free when the Blackhawks waiver him

Has there been any word/details regarding what is specifically wrong with Crawford?
- SimpleJack

No.
Because teams can't comment on the health of their players, and because other teams have used the EXACT same language 'not fit to practice', the most likely conclusion is he's tested positive for COVID-19.

If that's the case, you won't hear anything until he's tested negative twice and returns to the ice.

If he was opting out, that's what they would have said, but they used the league approved language.

As Sigmund Freud said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."

I'm the first one to bang the "we need more players like Saad not less" drum, but with the cap situation and the fact that they have added a number of cheaper players, I think the writing is on the wall for Saad. Especially since they signed ADB to a higher dollar extension, I think they start to run out of cap room quick. Strome and Kubalik are going to take a sizeable bite as well.

I think the answer to your question will ultimately be all of the above. They have guys in the pipeline that can replace what Maatta brings right now (we don't have to discuss Smith). Heck, Gilbert almost did that and he is probably at the bottom of the prospect list at this point.
- Chunk

The question is what will Saad get on the open market? There aren't going to be many teams be able to just take on $6 mil. + in salary.

Saw a report stating that Holtz and Raymond wont be able to play in the NHL next season as their SHL contracts won't allow them to. Whoever drafts them won't have their services until 2021-22 at the earliest.

Not sure if either were NHL-ready anyway. I would think Lafreniere definitely is. Lundell, too. Possibly Byfield.

No.
Because teams can't comment on the health of their players, and because other teams have used the EXACT same language 'not fit to practice', the most likely conclusion is he's tested positive for COVID-19.

If that's the case, you won't hear anything until he's tested negative twice and returns to the ice.

If he was opting out, that's what they would have said, but they used the league approved language.

As Sigmund Freud said, "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."
- scottak

I thought Horndog Billy said that.

Yes Wiz. And that's the RIGHT way to go. This stagnant Cap for the next couple of years is timed perfectly for the Hawks. 75% of the league is going to be nipped by this static Cap. Especially hard on the true CUP contenders like Leafs and Lightning as they try to tweak their teams for a chance at the Holy Grail. But, for our Hawks....they should look at these 2-3 years of little to no Cap rising as the perfect opportunity to develop and play many of these young guys and let them grow together.
Even is a "Best Case" scenario we are 2-3 years away from truly being ready to be a Cup threat. Just when we should be ready to make a charge should coincide perfectly with the Cap beginning to rise as Covid eases and new TV deal launches.

This is our time. 2 years of plugging in and developing the Kubalicks, Dachs, Boqvists, Mitchells, etc, etc....and deciding which to keep, and which to turn into assets.

(Add in Lafreniere....BOOM...Let's go baby. Hawks Cup 2022-23 or 2023-24....and several more after!!!)


- hawk35

The bolded is exactly why more prospects in the pipeline is great because you get more lottery tickets and increased chances of finding some winners in the bunch.

Cut bait with the ones that don't develop well or leverage some (even good ones) for needed assets to fill roster depth deficiencies.

I believe that Shaw said that he wants to come back next year, but as we have seen with head injuries, it is not always that simple. I wouldn't pencil Shaw in anywhere at this point.
- Chunk

Yeah, I'm even cautious at penciling him in to my Capfriendly roster that I toy around with. He's perpetually on the LTIR box in my account.

Shaw and Caggiula have injury concerns so is it good to carry both as they're effective when healthy, or replace with healthier options like Suter and prospects like Hagel, Kuarshev, Entwistle, etc?

One of the things I used to complain about was Coach Q's propensity to continuously change up his line combo's - I felt it didn't allow linemates to get in a rhythm with each other. I realize Coach Q isn't the only coach to do that and that sometimes it's the best option when things aren't going well, but he seemed to do it more often than when the circumstances called for it - he played hunches or went with whims or whatever.

The reason I wrote all that is because I would like the Nylander-Strome-Kane line to remain intact for a long enough period of time to determine whether or not Nylander and Strome have grown into a consistent top-end unit. They seem to have chemistry so let them be. Nylander needs to be more consistent and Strome needs to improve his skating - both things that can be done if given enough time.

It's been announced that the reason why Gilbert isn't at training camp is because he has sustained an upper body injury.

UPDATE: Wrist injury requiring surgery.

Not saying you, but it is still a bit early to call that trade.

I thought Nylander progressed last season. He really seemed to be finding his niche in the latter part of the season.He appeared to be just playing as opposed to thinking about his responsibilities during his shifts.
- Elbows15

I think I saw that too.

I just dont know were Henri was gonna fit. No extremely offensive, not really a puck carrier extraordinaries, he was always gone a get pushed about, and he would have been an expensive 3rd pair guy on a team in need of offensive scorers and playmakers...

you notice they are going to use Saad as the number on the second power play.
You have to wonder if the Euros Arte going to ne auditioning for that bumper because Pius goes to the net with success in the NLA....

Maybe but I am trying to move other players before I move Saad. I think Strome and Kubalik's deals depends on what happens against the Oilers.

Kubalik is the priority. He does deserve a raise but teams get in trouble paying too much after one good season. I want to see if he can replicate his success. A 2 year deal would be fair, IMO.

Strome is a guy I still am unsure what to do with him. He has vg offensive skills but how much are you paying for a guy to anchor a bumslaying line? Dach will be the 2C. Strome is a defensive liability rn. Can he improve? He is willing but that skating is a real issue in his own zone.
- Elbows15

Good post. Agree on your point that there are other players I try to move before Saad and another point you shared stating that the Hawks need the right veterans to lead the youth. I consider Toews, Kane, and Saad as the veteran trio to be that group.

A 2-year bridge deal is what I would expect for Kubalik at no more than $3M but who knows what the AAV will end up being. You want to reward him but not go overboard for a one-year sample size.

If the Hawks retain Strome on a similar deal as Kubalik, one option could be to have Suter center Strome and DeBrincat. Suter gives you pivot experience plus defensive muscle.

Not saying you, but it is still a bit early to call that trade.

I thought Nylander progressed last season. He really seemed to be finding his niche in the latter part of the season.He appeared to be just playing as opposed to thinking about his responsibilities during his shifts.
- Elbows15

I thought Nylander progressed when playing top 6 minutes he stopped automatically deferring (i.e. to Kane), and just played his own game, like he was doing when playing down on the fourth line.

Agreed. By no means am I encouraging a trade of Saad. Far from it. I simply believe that they have loaded up with a bunch of scratch-offs to set themselves up to replace him if need be.
- Chunk

Great way to summarize the situation.